


It's All Fun and Games

by Uniasus



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Beachs, Dolphins, F/M, The yeti are super sweet on Jack, Vacation Time!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-20
Updated: 2014-05-20
Packaged: 2018-01-25 21:21:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1662884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uniasus/pseuds/Uniasus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>...until someone gets hurt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's All Fun and Games

When Jack had been approached by Sandy one night, signing about breaks and vacations, Jack was in. He was so totally in. He only mildly paid attention to the reasons, defeating Pitch, relaxing, celebrating Jack taking the Oath, having a bit of personal time. It was a vacation, time to spend with fellow spirits who would actually enjoy having him around (well, Bunny was debatable), and another excuse to ride on Santa's sleigh.

Jack told Sandy, of course I'm coming!, and then nodded at the little man's instructions to meet at the Pole the next afternoon.

He was so there!

Except, well, his idea of a vacation spot was a little different than the rest of the Guardians. While vacations weren't a routine thing, it was obvious they had taken a few group trips over the years and knew what type of environment worked for them all.

Which was a deserted island.

In the Caribbean.

Which was hot and sunny and oh boy he had been hoping for, if not snow, someplace no warmer that say, fifty degrees.

"It's hot," Jack complained, picking at the collar of his hoodie and staring at the sand over the side of the sleigh. He knew, just knew, that it would burn his feet if he touched it.

"Oh," Tooth said, looking chagrined as she hovered over the sand, a bundle in her arms. "We've been here before, and obviously weren't thinking..." she trailed off. "We could go someplace else, if this is too hot for you."

Jack looked from her to North was was stripping to reveal an old fashioned one piece bathing suit stripped red and white while jogging into the ocean, to Bunny who was setting up an umbrella, to Sandy who seemed to be putting together a portable bar, and back to Tooth. He knew, if he insisted, they would pack up and go someplace a little colder. A mountain lake or something similar. But...

But he could feel the waves of pleasure coming from the other Guardians. This was a place they associated with good times, with laughter and fun. Jack couldn't take that away from them.

"I should be okay for a couple of hours." Like two. Only two.

She beamed at him and Jack had to smile back. It was rather amusing how her feet rose while her head didn't when he showed off his teeth.

"You're doing it again."

"Oh." She blushed, and immediately switched from a horizontal hover to a vertical one. "Help us set up? Then we can go swimming. The water should cool you down."

"Sure."

Tooth's bundle turned out to be folding chairs and towels, which Jack helped arrange under the umbrellas Bunny erected in the beach. Quoting feathers and fur and the issues they had with sand, the chairs were Bunny's and Tooth's. North's towel was actually a blanket, and Sandy simply used his dreamsand to create a hammock.

"We've got extras, I didn't know what you wanted," Tooth said. Jack looked at the white sand, which he still hadn't touched as he'd been flying the entire time, and decided a chair would be best. Fully under the umbrella shade.

"Water is nice!" North called out from the ocean.

"Be there in a second!" Tooth called back.

Bunny just raised an eyebrow in North's direction and settled further into his chair. There was a sketch book on his lap, already showing a likeness to the ocean view, and as Jack leaned over to watch him run a charcoal stick over the paper Sandy floated over to the Easter Bunny. He conjured up a sand table and placed the drink in his hand on it.

"Thanks Sandy." Bunny said, taking a sip from the umbrella straw.

"What are you drinking?" Jack asked.

"Adult drink."

Jack humphed and crossed his arms. "I may be eternally fourteen, but I'm no stranger to alcohol."

Bunny looked at him, obviously planning to ask about that, but Tooth pulled at Jack's arm.

"Jack, come on! Let's go swim."

"Okay, okay!" he laughed.

They flew over to the shore and while Tooth went straight into a series of dives that reminded Jack of a skipping stone, he paused. Figuring it was okay to touch down on wet sand, Jack planted his staff and then shimmied out of his hoodie. Seeing no place else for it, he hung it on the crook of his staff by the hood. Not having a swimsuit at all, or even anything under his buckskin pants, Jack waded out into the water wearing the leather.

He knew how to swim, with a pond near the settlement every boy spent time there during the summer months. Jack's fun memories of those time were stronger than his recent fear of drowning, enough were he wasn't adverse to swimming but he had no intentions of diving beneath the surface.

North and Tooth were coming towards him, and now that the water was at chest level Jack pushed off the sandy bottom and swam towards them.

"Water is nice, no?" North asked as they met up.

"Very refreshing," Jack smiled back and then pushed both palms down in the water, causing a small wall of water to rise up and splash Tooth in the face. She sputtered and then gave him a competitive glare.

"Are you starting a water fight, Jack Frost?"

"Maybe," he sing-songed. "But no dunking!"

Tooth nodded, and then laughed loudly as North floated up on his back and aimed a strong splash kick at the pair of them. It was no fair, North was bigger than them combined and so of course he could create bigger splashes.

Eventually, their game tapered off and Jack reluctantly left the ocean with them. If Jack had thought it was was hot before, he was wrong. Leaving the water was like stepping onto a frying pan, but all that swimming had made him tired and Jack could only tread water for so long. North rushed on ahead to grab a drink from Sandy while Tooth kept pace with him.

"Your shoulders are pink," she said, pressing fingers lightly to his skin. Jack turned to look at his shoulder. They felt a little warm, but nothing major.

"Huh, sun burn. Only gotten that on my nose once or twice."

"Will you be okay? We can leave if it's getting too hot."

Jack looked over to the others. North had a drink in hand and was teasing Bunny about something. Not Easter, because the spring spirit wasn't radiating hostility. Sandy jumped in the conversation, sand images speeding by, and Jack smiled at them. They were having fun. He couldn't disrupt that.

"Don't worry about it. Come tomorrow, it'll be gone." Jack took his hoodie from his staff and dunked it in the water before putting it back on. It was hot and heavy, but better than being exposed to the sun. If they did this again, he was gonna have to borrow one of those light weight hiking shirts from Jamie's mom, even if it was pink.

They made their way to join Sandy at his little bar, Tooth walking due to waterlogged wings while Jack flew, where the Dream Guardian handed Tooth a drink and then turned to Jack with a raised eyebrow and a question mark above his head. Jack had a feeling that if he asked for a martini, shaken not stirred, the little man would give it to him. A quick peek over his shoulder let him know Bunny wasn't paying attention and Tooth didn't look as if she would stop Sandy either, but he'd take Sandy offer on such a drink later. He wasn't exactly in the mood.

"I would love some water that doesn't taste like salt."

Sandy didn't make any sound, but Jack just knew he was laughing.

To Jack's surprise, Sandy didn't just have water, he had ice cubes. Oh, those were amazing. He quickly put one on his head and then covered it with his hood to try to keep it from melting as much as possible. Tooth just shook her head and walked over to her chair. She dragged it out from the umbrella shade and plopped down to sunbathe, wings fluttering in contentment.

There was a tug on Jack's sleeve and there was Sandy, giving him a knowing look. Jack smiled sheepishly back. Sandy floated over the bar, still holding on to Jack's hoodie, and pulled him towards the water. Jack wasn't up for more swimming quite yet, and so was happy when Sandy signed he wanted to make sandcastles. Using real sand the old fashioned way and not with his magic.

Of course, the buckets were made of magic and Jack had never seen such detailed molds. Or one in the shape of North's Workshop before.

It was fun, scooping up handfuls of wet sand and plopping them in the buckets, made more enjoyable by their messes. Some wouldn't come out, and in true traditional fashion instead of dissolving the mold Sandy created a shovel and dug the wet sand out by hand. Jack couldn't help but laugh at the moue on the Sandman's face every time that happened.

By the time they had decent models of the Workshop, Tooth Palace, a castle, Bunny's burrow, and Jamie's house, Jack's water was gone and his hoodie was dry. Worse, it creaked with dried salt and the mineral was a bit itchy.

There was a long clang from the others and Jack looked up to see Bunny wrestling with something large and black next to North's sleigh. Interested, he flew over to see what was going on.

"What is that?" He asked.

Bunny, mellow from drinks, sun, and the personal accomplishment of a few good sketches, didn't seem as annoyed with Jack as usual. Good sign. Vacations should happen more often.

"A barbie. I'm gonna start cooking." He paused, looking at Jack and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Shoulda asked before, but are you okay with vegetarian? North complains, but he eats it, and Tooth doesn't mind."

"I'll eat anything." Which was true. Jack didn't eat a lot, no real need, and since becoming a spirit eating food and trying new things were mini adventures.

"Right then, wanna help?"

Jack eyed the grill warily. It used fire, that he knew, and since he was really staring to feel the sun now it would be a bad idea.

"Maybe some other time," he shook his head.

Bunny looked up at him. "You a'right mate? Your cheeks are pink."

Jack put a hand to his face, yup warm and tight. His head too. Great sunburns on his face and under his hair.

"We can go if you want, I can cook lunch in the Warren."

North had joined Sandy, who had shifted to follow the wet sand of the retreating tide. Tooth was walking the beach, looking for pretty shells and sea glass to bring back to her fairies. They were all so happy.

Jack shook his head. Leaving would ruin their fun. "I'm good, but I do want to explore the island a bit." It was small, it shouldn't take too long, and the center was a bunch of trees whose shade looked really, really inviting.

"All right, there's a cave on the other side that's interesting."

"Cool, thanks Bunny!" Jack zipped over to Sandy's bar, placed another ice cube on his head, stuffed his mouth with more of them, and grabbed some water before flying over to the trees.

The tree shade was a relief, much cooler than the umbrella's, and Jack found he could actually walk instead of fly. He wandered around a bit, impressed with the birds, but the island really wasn't that big and so before long he was on the other side. Jack hovered at the border between forest and beach, and then saw the cliffs. The cave Bunny had mentioned had to be over there and Jack couldn't resist doing a bit of exploring. He flew over.

It wasn't very big, he couldn't fully stand up in it, but the water erosion had carved patterns in the rock that Jack found fascinating. It was like watching clouds, the shapes his mind came up with changed as he walked around the walls and his angle of them shifted. In an effort to solidify some of the images, he touched the rock with his hand and frost outlined them. It didn't last more than a few seconds before melting and Jack sighed. Gah it was hot on this island.

But inside the cave at least it was a bit cool with it's stone walls and rocky floor. Jack took off his hoodie and leaned against the back wall, the rock feeling nice against his skin. He closed his eyes, enjoying the sea breeze for a bit and when he opened them noticed something silver in the water.

Dolphins. A whole pod of them.

Their clicks and whistles were faint, but to Jack they were a siren song of fun. _Come play with us! Come have fun!_ He could never resist dolphins. Plus, he wouldn't mind cooling down in the water again. Leaving his staff and hoodie behind, Jack made his way towards them. 

They came to meet in him the water, swimming around him in circles that made him dizzy to keep up, having to turn twice as fast as them due to being in the center of the circle. He caught rides on their dorsal fins, was splashed in the face with tails, and clapped as they showed off with jumps and flips. Having this much fun, thoughts of the sun, now directly above him, faded from his mind.

That is, until he let go of a fin after a ride and started to sink.

He sputtered as he rose and the dolphins around him closed in tight, clicking questions.

"I'm alright, just a little tired I guess. Lots of swimming. And sun." Jack tilted his head back, squinted at the star above, and quickly averted his gaze. His vision was doing funny things; everything around him was muted, not quite black and white but almost. The water was no longer refreshing, it was sapping his strength as he kicked his legs.

"I...should go back to shore. Bunny's probably done cooking."

He started swimming, but his limbs felt heavy and if staying in one place was taking it's toll actually moving doubled it. Jack started to sink, and he couldn't even muster up the strength to panic as water rushed up his nose.

* * *

"Where is Jack?" North asked as they walked up to the sleigh, one of whose wings was being used as a table for lunch.

"Said he wanted to explore the island a bit, left just as I was setting up the barbie."

"That was almost an hour ago," Tooth fretted, looking towards the trees. "This place isn't that big. You could walk around it in less than that."

Sandy conjured up images of Jack handling one item, and then spotting another on the ground and picking that one up instead. The youngest Guardian was a bit scattered brained and easily distracted.

"Maybe Jack finds pretty bird and is chasing it." North said. Sandy pointed at Tooth and winked, but she missed it.

"I told him about the cave over there. It's possible he just lost track of time."

"I will call him then." North strode to the edge of the trees and Tooth covered her ears quickly. "JACK! COME AND EAT!"

Birds flew up into the air. Bunny groaned. Tooth knew from previous experience that from the other side of the island you could hear North's bellows. North came to join them and sat down in a chair. "He will be here soon."

Tooth rolled her eyes and continued pulling out plates.

Drinks were pored, veggie dogs in buns were placed on a platter, fruit cubes sat in bowls, and the Guardians all convened around the wing staring at the corpse of trees. Ten minutes. No Jack.

"I'm worried," Tooth said. "He is a winter spirit, and he got a sunburn on his shoulder while we were swimming."

"His face was pink too," Bunny added. With a sigh, he stood up and covered the food with a cloth. "Come on, let's go find him and make sure he didn't pass out in a tree."

Tooth knew it wouldn't be the first time. Trees were Jack's favorite bed.

They found footsteps in the forest, or rather bent twigs and disturbed tree debris. Jack was light enough that he rarely left footprints, and even then usually only in dew or fresh snow. The trail led to the other side of the island.

"Jack!" Tooth called out, raising a few feet in the air hoping to find a sign of him, but there was nothing.

"Come on," Bunny said hopping forward, heading towards the cliffs. "He's probably in the cave."

Except in the cave was only Jack's staff and hoodie. No Jack.

As one, they turned to the ocean. But the sea was calm. No one was out there swimming.

"You don't think-" North began but Tooth didn't hear the rest of it as she zoomed out over the water.

No. No no. Jack was a strong swimmer, he had no problems before. And the current was far out, Jack wouldn't swim that far away from shore. There was no way, there couldn't be.

There was a flash of sliver and Tooth followed it, flying to the left around the island. There was a pod of dolphins, moving incredibly slow, and as she approached she could see way.

Laid across the back of two of them was a passed out Jack.

"Jack!" She swooped down and immediately drew the attention of the pod. They circled around him, and absently she noticed one splash water on him. As Tooth got closer to the pod, she received a fountain of air in her face from a blowhole that halted her progress.

It was rather odd, but she got the impression that they were scolding her.

Tooth was having none of it. "Please," she begged, dodging splashes, "he's my friend, give him to me and I'll see that he's taken care of."

While she appreciated the dolphins attempts to keep Jack wet and therefore cool, it was obvious their efforts weren't enough. His entire torso was sunburned pink, with his face and shoulders a ugly peeling red. None of the other Guardians needed sunscreen and so they hadn't packed any, but she was certainly throwing two bottles of the highest SPF her girls could find in the sleigh before the next trip.

Sandy appeared next to her and immediately spotted Jack. The dolphins didn't seem willing to chastise him, they backed off of Tooth too, and allowed the two of them to pick up Jack. With her arms under his, Tooth could feel the heat radiating from Jack through her feathers.

Once in the air, Sandy built a cloud under Jack and Tooth let the teen spirit down gently. Then she took off as fast as she could for the sleigh. Bunny and North were already there, no doubt thanks to a tunnel. North was quickly hitching up the reindeer while Bunny was clearing their lunch from the wing. With a tap, Sandy's bar, the umbrellas, and all the chairs and towels disappeared down holes. Tooth didn't care where they went, they all would wind up back in the Workshop eventually.

She landed on the back of the sleigh. "Sandy's got him. He must have passed out in the water, and a pod of dolphins were carrying him."

Bunny raised an eyebrow at that.

"Will Jack be okay?" North asked, forcing a bit into Vixen's mouth. The reindeer for once were not making the act of hitching difficult, and Tooth wondered if they understood the seriousness of the situation.

"I think so. It looks like he has some really bad sunburns. I think it's just heat exhaustion. Oh, he told me he could only last a couple of hours out here. Why didn't I pay more attention to the time?"

"Not your fault," Bunny said, hopping into the sleigh. "Lad coulda told us he was feeling the sun."

Tooth sighed, but before she could respond was interrupted by the appearance of Sandy. Gently, he laid Jack on a bench and Tooth reached for his hoodie on the one above. She hesitated, unsure if it would be best put to use as a pillow or sun shield, but then draped the fabric over Jack's chest and settled his head on her lap.

This close, she could tell his head under his hair was burnt too and that was the only thing that kept her from stroking his hair.

"Do we have any of that ice?"

"Sorry, sent it all to the Warren."

"Hang tight!" North shouted just before the sleigh flew into a portal. In a flash, they were flying over landscape Tooth recognized as belonging near North's Workshop. Bunny shivered at the sudden cold, but Jack seemed to give a sigh of relief and sunk deeper into sleep.

He'd be alright.

Once inside, North took Jack from her with an arm under his knees and another supporting his back. Jack gave a little wince, no doubt his back was burnt too, but slept on.

"I'll be back," Bunny said as he tapped a hole in the floor.

Tooth didn't even nod okay before he was gone.

Taking long strides, North made his way to the healing ward. Tooth flew after him and took the time to reassure the yeti who were peaking around corners, seeing Jack limp in North's arms, and muttering in worry.

"It's all right. Jack was just in the sun a little too long. A nice cold breeze, a long nap, and he'll be better, you'll see."

They seemed more convinced by her lack of a rush to follow North than her words, but Tooth would take what she could get. Sandy was gone, most likely with North, and that left her to give more details to Phil when he stopped her once the hallways were clear of most of the yeti. It was cute, the friendship between Phil and Jack.

By the time she had finished telling Phil about the sun and dolphins and the yeti had walked off mumbling about making Jack's favorite food for when he woke, Bunny was back. Tooth let him enter the healing ward before her and he was already opening the bottle of salve as he walked up to a sleeping Jack.

North went to open the windows and Tooth hovered over Bunny's shoulder while he rubbed aloe on Jack's chest, arms, shoulders, face. "Turn him over a bit, will ya? I need to get his back."

Tooth complied and when Bunny nodded to say he was finished slowly rolled Jack back over. They stood there, shoulder to shoulder and watched Jack take a few deep breaths. He would be fine, she knew it, but it was such a relief to see him sleeping peacefully in the bed after the burst of panic in her chest not thirty minutes before.

A knock on the door had them turning around to see Sandy, drinking eggnog while he waved at them before pointing to the image of lunch above his head. They hadn't eaten and Jack would sleep for awhile; they might as well fill their stomachs while they waited.

Sated, and not really worried but okay, maybe just a bit, Tooth couldn't bring herself to leave the Pole without seeing Jack awake. A small group of fairies served as messengers as she gave instructions, flitting from one spot to another in the open space between the floors of the Workshop. Bunny and Sandy had stayed too, Tooth caught glimpses of them from time to time as they played a game of cards in a lounge near the healing ward. North, she noticed, was doing rounds and inspecting toys.

A part of the Pole went dead with silence, and then it spread. Tooth turned her head to the source, a group of yeti staring a Jack as he stood in the doorway of the healing ward with one hand on his staff and the other rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Jack!" Tooth squealed, zooming over to him, stopping just shy of giving him a hug because she could tell his face was still burned though not as much as before. Plus, he was still shirtless and now that Jack was awake Tooth was very conscious of all his skin and where to put her hands in accordance with it.

"Are you feeling okay? Can I get you anything?"

"Water would be nice."

As if on cue, a yeti showed up with a glass of ice water.

"Thanks Mary," he said and downed it in one go. Tooth was surprised that not only did he not choke, but another yeti had a second glass waiting for him. They obviously liked him a lot better than North and the thought made her smile.

"Hey pony-boy," Bunny called from the lounge down the hallway, Sandy floating over his shoulder waving enthusiastically. They both looked relieved.

"Hey yourself, Cottontail. When did we get back?"

"Why don't you come in?"

"Okay. Just let me grab my hoodie."

Tooth waited for him and then entered the lounge after Jack. North was already there. Phil too, she was pleased to see, with a stack of chocolate chip pancakes. Jack lept upon them and the yeti shook his head in exasperation before leaving.

They all watched Jack eat for awhile, but eventually he seemed to feel their eyes and looked from one to the other. "What?"

"Jack," North began. "We were worried. Did not know what happened to you. Lunch came, and you did not show up."

"Sorry."

"Why didn't you tell us it was getting too hot?" Tooth asked.

Jack opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. "I couldn't."

She frowned. "Jack, what do you mean you couldn't? We wouldn't be angry, we care for you."

"I know, it's just," he face screwed up as if he was searching for the right words, the right reason. "You guys were all having fun. I couldn't stop that."

Tooth, North, and Bunny all released an 'oh' and Sandy smacked himself in the forehead. Jack looked between them, confused.

"Guess we forgot to tell you about the other drawback of being a Guardian. Granted, I only thought it worked with kids."

"What are you talking about Bunny?"

"Well, Pitch said it before. If the kids stop believing, we fade away. That's drawback number one."

"Number two is our centers." North said. "Because of what we guard in children, we cannot disrupt it."

"So...if some kid was daydreaming and wandering father from home, Sandy wouldn't be able to snap him out of it?"

Sandy nodded.

"And since you guys were having fun, and I'm the Guardian of Fun, I couldn't stop you. Even if it was bad for my health."

"Yes." Tooth nodded solemnly. "I think. Like Bunny said, we've run into this problem with children and not each other or other spirits. But I can't recall ever wanting to disturb a spirit remembering something and so haven't it noticed myself. You guys?" She looked around at the other Guardians who all shook their heads.

"Well, no reason to be mad at you. You couldn't help it, Jack."

"Still, sorry for worrying you guys."

"And we're sorry for not noticing anything before it got too bad." Tooth laid a hand on Jack's shoulder. "We'll go some place else next time."

"Sounds good. Despite the heat, I had a good time."

"I'm glad." She settled herself against Jack's side, ignoring Sandy's look, and helped herself to one of Jack's pancakes.

**Author's Note:**

> Been kinda tinkering with the idea of the Guardians being restricted in terms of action when it comes to kids (or other spirits) involved in their centers. This theme may or may not come up again, heads up. It's a goldmine for angst and well, I tend to wallow in that.


End file.
